Pacific Legal Foundation and George Mason University’s Journal of Law, Economics & Policy seek papers for a symposium titled “Too Far: Imagining the Future of Regulatory Takings,” to be held at George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School in October 2024.

A century ago, Oliver Wendell Holmes, speaking for the Supreme Court, assured us that “[t]he general rule at least is that while property may be regulated to a certain extent, if regulation goes too far it will be recognized as a taking.” In the ensuing one hundred years, courts have struggled to draw the line defining “too far.” Some still wonder whether such a line should even exist. As Justice Clarence Thomas recently said, “If there is no such thing as a regulatory taking, we should say so. And if there is, we should make clear when one occurs.”

Applicable Research Topics

Pacific Legal Foundation seeks papers that offer fresh ideas on how to make “too far” more just, more concrete, and more principled. We welcome proposals that look at this problem from legal, economic, political, historical, and related angles, including empirical and nonempirical approaches.

Honorarium, Deadlines, and Submission Details

Please submit a brief proposal that describes your thesis and how your paper will contribute to the legal issues described above. Proposals should be submitted by April 15, 2024, to Ethan Blevins at eblevins@pacificlegal.org.

Authors of accepted papers will receive a $2,500 honorarium. In addition, papers will be presented at a symposium in October 2024 and published in a special edition of the Journal of Law, Economics & Policy.

Contact Details

For questions regarding the call for papers, please contact Ethan Blevins at eblevins@pacificlegal.org.